From the beginning of the Baltimore Ravens' season, when they had an epic collapse and lost to the Buffalo Bills, right to the end when their season ended with a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, nothing was good enough. Not even when they had a field-goal attempt to win the division.
Ravens QB Lamar Jackson hit two huge touchdowns to Zay Flowers in the fourth quarter, each giving Baltimore a late lead, and in previous seasons the Ravens' defense probably would have finished it out and won the AFC North. Not this season. The defense couldn't stop Aaron Rodgers, who had at least one game-winning drive left in his historic career.
Rodgers hit Calvin Austin III for a 26-yard touchdown with 55 seconds left to give the Steelers the lead. Rodgers might have been less than a minute from the end of his historic career when he hit Austin for a touchdown that decided the division title. Jackson drove the team downfield, hitting a massive fourth down pass to put the Ravens into field-goal range. But rookie Tyler Loop missed a 44-yard attempt wide right.
Coach Tomlin was locked in for the final play.pic.twitter.com/FCa0HZ2LFy
— NFL (@NFL)January 5, 2026
The Steelers are the AFC North champions after a dramatic 26-24 win over the Ravens in the final game of the NFL regular season. Rodgers' historic career will last at least one more playoff game.
"We did all that to come up short, you know?"Jackson said postgame. "Devastating. Furious."
On the official clinching scenarios, the stakes for Sunday night's regular-season finale were clear: The winner would be the AFC North champion and get the No. 4 seed,playing the Houston Texans on wild-card weekend, and the loser would enter the offseason. The result had the potential to have a wide-ranging impact beyond which team made the playoffs. Either team would have had questions about their future after a disappointing season, including the future of their long-tenured head coach.
It's the Ravens who will be searching for answers after a season that went horribly wrong. There will be immediate questions about John Harbaugh's future as the team's coach. The Ravens wouldn't have been in a must-win scenario had they gotten more out of their superstar quarterback throughout the season. Everything that cost the Ravens a playoff spot will be examined, and the solutions might not be easy to find.
An emotional Tyler Loop leaves the field, accompanied by John Harbaughpic.twitter.com/2rR292iyvZ
— Baltimore Banner Sports (@AllBannerSports)January 5, 2026
Ravens come up with timely stuff of Steelers in first half
The Steelers finished the first half with a call that was instantly questioned.
Pittsburgh trailed 10-3 in the final seconds of the first half when Ravens safety Kyle Hamilton was called for pass interference in the end zone. That put the ball at the 1-yard line with two seconds left and the Steelers, who had no timeouts, had a decision to make. They passed on the field goal to go for it, which wasn't that controversial. The play call was.
The Steelers motioned to the right and that left two Ravens defenders on the edge with only one blocker for them. Rodgers didn't change the play, flipped to Gainwell to the left and he was immediately hit by Ravens safety Alohi Gilman for a loss of a yard. Time ran out and the Ravens took a 10-3 lead into halftime.
.@alohigilmanand@KVN_03🔥🔥🔥🔥Tune in on SNF!pic.twitter.com/uRcYOoMBAJ
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens)January 5, 2026
The Steelers' offense was a problem in the first half, and not just on the final play. Their lack of firepower at receiver without DK Metcalf, who was serving the second and final game of a suspension, was glaring. They got very little going downfield and had just a field goal at the half. It was just like the previous week, when Pittsburgh didn't score a touchdown in a loss to the Browns.
The Ravens weren't much better on offense, but a fourth-down touchdown pass for 38 yards from Jackson to Devontez Walker against the Steelers' blitz was the difference in the game. Derrick Henry had 112 rushing yards in the first half, which helped Baltimore keep control of the game.
Despite the Steelers' miscue at the end of the first half, the Ravens couldn't fully take advantage.
Fourth quarter turns into a classic shootout
The Ravens' offense started with a touchdown and then went cold. The Steelers scored a TD to start the second half, then Jackson's pass was tipped at the line and somehow T.J. Watt reacted quickly enough to pick it off. That set up a field goal to give the Steelers the 13-10 lead.
The Ravens have a two-time MVP quarterback in Jackson but he didn't look like himself for nearly the entire regular season. Hamstring and back injuries caused him to miss time, and it seemed to affect his explosiveness. When the Ravens needed him to have a big game to win the division Sunday night, he was ineffective deep into the second half. Through three quarters, he had 67 yards passing, and 38 of that came on one play. Henry was churning out some yards but the Ravens needed some passing game component and Jackson wasn't providing it.
But Jackson had a vintage quarter when Baltimore needed it. Jackson had a play that reminded everyone why he is one of the NFL's special players. He moved up in the pocket on a third down, splitting two defenders. He escaped and rolled to his right, then threw deep to Flowers for a 50-yard score.
The Ravens couldn't get a stop right after that. Rodgers drove the Steelers downfield, and despite helmet communication issues that caused the Steelers to use their final two timeouts, Kenneth Gainwell's 2-yard touchdown run with 3:49 left gave Pittsburgh a 20-17 lead.
Jackson answered. Somehow, nobody covered Flowers crossing the field deep, and Jackson found him for a 64-yard score. The Ravens led 24-20 with 2:20 left.
Rodgers found Austin down the left sideline after Chidobe Awuzie fell down. Austin scored a 26-yard touchdown with 55 seconds left but Chris Boswell missed the extra point, and the Steelers had just a 26-24 lead. After a long kickoff return, the Ravens needed about 20 yards to get a field-goal attempt. They had a fourth down, but Jackson lofted a pass that Isaiah Likely came down with inside of field-goal range. But Loop missed wide right.
"I felt like we had it," Jackson said of the Ravens' chances on their final drive.
Rodgers' career looked like it might end on a missed extra point by his kicker. But the Ravens' kicker made sure that Rodgers had at least one game left.
SNF: Ravens at Steelers for AFC North title
